Shaky, hand-held shots can ruin your images. If you are shooting exteriors on a windy day, even if you sand-bag or stake the tripod legs, you still risk having the whole thing blow over with possible disastrous damage to your camera and tripod. If the terrain is uneven, leveling the tripod legs can be a nightmare. (A side note: a remote control device for your camera is very handy when photographing a pet.
The solution to the precarious, cramped or low-to-ground level shooting angle problem? Pull a beanbag camera support out of your camera bag and you will have a steady shooting surface that will fit in, on, under or around just about anyplace.
If you spend some time researching on the Internet, try Googling topics such as camera beanbag support, camera support systems or camera support bags. What can be used to fill the beanbag support bag? Well. Other suggestions are: sand, shot (as used in shot bags for hunters), plastic pellets (although they may be too light-weight to give maximum stability), small glass beads, stones or gravel from your local Home Depot.
Fill the bag with M&Ms and you have post-shoot munchies or something to stave off wilderness hunger pangs if you get lost.
If the bag, liners and contents do get wet, they are easy to dry out without consequences.
I personally use a support bag that has double, folding, aquarium gravel-filled cushions. It features a quarter inch threaded bolt that attaches to the bottom of the camera so that there is no chance of the camera sliding off the support bag. There are handles to carry the bag with the camera attached so that it is ready to shoot. The support bag is also extra cushioning protection around the camera when the whole thing is stored inside a larger, regular camera bag.
If you are interested in making your own beanbag support bag, there are instructions, as well as sources for the materials needed, on my website that is listed below.
Tags: beanbag, camera beanbag support, tripod
